See also

Purpose of this guide

This Copyright Guide for Thesis Preparation provides information for graduate students about copyright in
the preparation of a thesis or dissertation. The Guide discusses the use of copyrighted material in a thesis as well as
copyright issues related to electronic deposit of theses at Concordia University. Concordia regulations require that a
thesis be deposited in electronic form in Spectrum, Concordia’s open access research repository, and this Guide reviews the
copyright implications of this deposit.

Academic Integrity: Citation & Avoiding Plagiarism

An important part of engaging in research and scholarship is giving other authors proper attribution and recognition for
their ideas, words, and contributions. This is especially important in preparing a thesis, since your thesis must be an
original work in your own words. Naturally, you will cite other works, quote and paraphrase from them. You must do so in a
consistent and transparent manner, using a citation or style guide.

Whenever you use someone else’s work, cite it according to the conventions or style guide of your discipline. If you are
unsure which citation style to use, consult your supervisor early in your thesis writing process. The Thesis
Preparation and Thesis Examination Regulations guide prepared by the Thesis Office lists some commonly used citation
manuals. The Library maintains information on citation guides, and offers workshops on best practices and use of reference
management tools.

Keep track of the sources you use and make proper citation a practice as you conduct your literature review and research.
Citation or style guides will show how to cite a variety of scholarly sources, including journal articles, books, conference
proceedings, news sources, archival documents, films, audio recordings, and more.

For more information on citing sources and how to avoid plagiarism, consult the following Concordia resources:

Taking the time to become informed about copyright is essential in the preparation of your thesis, and will also be
valuable to you as a copyright holder. Today’s online environment and the availability of electronic theses and dissertations
(ETDs), through institutional repositories such as Spectrum: Concordia
University Research Repository, make information available to a wider audience and benefit research everywhere. This
new reality makes becoming knowledgeable about copyright very important for you as an author.

Obtaining copyright permissions from copyright holders can be a very time consuming endeavor. Therefore it is strongly
recommended that you investigate copyright responsibilities early in the process of writing your thesis. Copyright should be
reviewed even in cases where you are including your own previously published work as it is possible that, despite you having
authored the work, you no longer retain copyright in it (see Section entitled Including Your Own
Previously Published Work in Your Thesis).

Although proper citation provides acknowledgment for the sources you use, it is not sufficient in meeting copyright
obligations.

Copyright protects works from being copied, performed or distributed without the permission of the copyright holder,
usually the author or the creator of the work, and provides exceptions for special circumstances.

Copyright automatically applies to original works such as books, articles, videos, music, paintings, photographs, digital
works, broadcasts and performances.

In Canada, the length of copyright is usually fifty (50) years after the death of the creator. After copyright expires, a
work becomes part of the public domain and may be freely copied and distributed.

Before copying, adapting, distributing or performing a copyrighted work, you need to consider whether:

You are using an insubstantial or substantial part of the work.

What you want to do may fall under fair dealing.

The copyright holder has granted permission or has issued a special license.

Including Someone Else’s Work

Copyright provides the context to determine the specific circumstances when using someone else’s work is forbidden and
others when it is allowed. This section highlights certain parameters to abide by in order to respect the Copyright Act of
Canada.

Including Someone Else’s Work - Insubstantial inclusion

Copyright protects specifically a "work or any substantial part thereof" (S. 3 of the Copyright Act), which
implies that use of insubstantial parts of copyright protected works are allowed by the Copyright Act. It is
generally understood that quotations fall under the “insubstantial use” doctrine, so long as they are of a reasonable length.
The maximum allowable length of a quotation will depend on many factors, such as the length of the original work or the nature
of the work. For example, quoting half of a short poem is probably not an “insubstantial” use, while quoting a few paragraphs
from a scholarly book may qualify.

Different disciplines have their own accepted practices. Academic integrity and authorship practices in your discipline may
provide more important constraints to using insubstantial parts of copyright protected works (i.e. in determining the maximum
length of a citation) than the Copyright Act. It is
highly recommended that you discuss such norms with your thesis supervisor, thesis committee or with Olivier Charbonneau (o.charbonneau@concordia.ca) or Alex Guindon (alex.guindon@concordia.ca) in the library.

Including Someone Else’s Work - Substantial inclusion

Using a substantial part or the whole of a copyrighted work in a thesis means you are using the reserved rights defined
in the Copyright Act.
In those circumstances, you must determine if this use constitutes “fair dealing” or if the use requires you to seek
permission from the appropriate rights holder.

Including Someone Else’s Work - Fair Dealing vs. Seeking Permission

In general, employing a substantial part or the whole of a copyrighted work requires you to:

Qualify for fair dealing, in which case you do not have to seek permission for using the copyrighted work
OR

Seek and obtain permission for your intended use OR

Refrain from using the work.

The guidelines and information below can assist with your decision about including a copyright protected work in your
thesis1.

Fair dealing is a general exception to copyright which applies in the context of private study, research, education, parody
or satire, criticism, review, news reporting and usually implies that the source of the work must be identified through proper
citation. Fair dealing is defined by stating what it is not: "Fair dealing for the purpose of research, private study,
education, parody or satire does not infringe copyright." (Copyright
Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-42, art. 292 ). This makes it more difficult to define
precisely when a use qualifies for fair dealing.

The critique or review of a copyright protected work that is quoted in your thesis may qualify for inclusion as criticism
or review under fair dealing. The context or the purpose of how you include the work is the first important factor to
consider. For example, including a copyrighted image would arguably not constitute fair dealing for criticism or review if you
did not discuss the image. The more something is discussed in your thesis, the easier it becomes to qualify for fair dealing
in the appropriate context.

Another factor to consider when assessing fair dealing is “proportionality”. This refers to the proportion or amount of the
work that you use compared to the complete work. Reproducing a large section of a work that only constitutes a small
proportion of the entire work may more easily be considered fair dealing than using a large proportion of the work. The latter
may require that you seek a permission to use such work in your thesis.

These factors above are intended to guide you in determining whether you can include the copyrighted work in your thesis,
or whether you need to consider alternatives to using the copyright protected work because your proposed use will have a
detrimental impact on the work and its rights holder. For example, it is easier to qualify for fair dealing for criticism and
review if the reproduction of an image is reduced in size or resolution, the image’s characteristics are thoroughly discussed
in your thesis, its suppression would diminish the quality and relevance of the discussion and a full citation for its source
is included.

For further information regarding other factors that should be taken into account, consult The
Concordia Libraries Copyright Guide. Again, general or accepted uses in your field may be a guide towards what
constitutes fair dealing.

1Please note that making copies of articles and other copyrighted works for your personal
records easily fits within the context of fair dealing for the purposes of private study or research. In this Guide, we are
discussing the use of
copyrighted works within your thesis. For more information about copying for private study or research purposes, please read:
http://library.concordia.ca/help/copyright/?guid=text

Including Someone Else’s Work - Types of Information Formats Protected by Copyright

If you incorporate any of these formats that are copyright protected in your thesis or dissertation, it is your
responsibility to determine if you are using an insubstantial or substantial amount of the material. If you use a substantial
amount, you are required to seek copyright permission to use unless the use of the material falls under fair dealing.

Text

Paper and digital books and articles, as well as web pages, all of which present textual information such as poems, plays,
novels, research articles, papers, opinions or blogs, are covered by copyright. Substantial or insubstantial use depends in
part on the proportion of the text you use. A few sentences from a novel or essay would probably be considered insubstantial
but a single line from a poem can be considered substantial.

Translations of copyrighted works are also copyright protected. Please note that permission to translate substantial
portions of a work must be obtained from the owner of the original work.

Images

Images, including artistic works, photographs, maps, charts, drawings, diagrams as well as tables and graphs, are covered
by copyright. It is important to verify the copyright status of images taken from a copyrighted work (books, articles, web
sites or other sources). Using low resolution images in your thesis or dissertation may be considered as insubstantial use
since they do not compete with the commercial interest of copyright owners.

Video/Film

Video, film works and television programs in any format – online, Blu-ray, DVD, VHS, Beta and U-matic tape, as well as 16mm
and 35mm films - are covered by copyright. Film or video clips may also be covered by copyright; depending on the proportion
of a work used in a thesis or dissertation, it may be possible to claim insubstantial use or fair dealing. For film materials
found on the Web, it is important to verify if they are copyright protected.

Music

Sound recordings of music are copyright protected. Using clips of a musical sound recording generally requires copyright
clearance from the copyright holders. You will want to determine if your inclusion of such material may be considered
substantial or insubstantial or if you can claim fair dealing.

Sheet music, scores, and song sheets are also covered by copyright. If you use excerpts of such materials, you may be able
to claim insubstantial use or fair dealing.

Software and code

Copyright protects certain aspects of software including the underlying code. It also protects some of the external
elements in a program, such as music, pictures or text as well as some of the elements of the user interface. The concept of
a program is not protected by copyright, although it may be protected by patents. It is possible to produce similar programs
to those that exist as long as the source code is not used.

How to seek permission to include copyrighted works in your thesis -
When to Seek Permission

If, after reading about copyright and consulting with your thesis committee, you consider that your thesis includes
elements (text, graphs, tables, images, etc.) that are substantial and do not constitute fair dealing, then
you must seek permission to reproduce them. This applies to both materials from other authors and your own materials that
have been previously published.

As obtaining an official letter or signed form from the copyright holder can take time, you will want to seek permission
early in the thesis process, especially if you need to contact multiple publishers.

How to seek permission to include copyrighted works in your thesis - Publisher Copyright Policies

The first step is to determine who holds the copyright for the materials that you are using. In most cases, for materials
published as part of journals or books, the publisher will hold the copyright. The publisher’s website may provide information
on copyright policies and people to contact. Journal websites are particularly useful and many will provide:

Advance permission for specific uses including non-commercial reproduction and use in theses;

Information on how to obtain permission and whom to contact;

Types of uses that are specifically prohibited.

Journal websites are also useful to obtain information on how to reuse your own articles for which the publisher holds the
copyright.

How to seek permission to include copyrighted works in your thesis - Contacting the Copyright Holder

If you determine that you need to ask permission, following are important elements to include in your correspondence:

Clarification that you are a graduate student at Concordia University and that the purpose of the request is to ask
permission for including copyrighted material in your thesis

A detailed citation of the document (or part thereof) that you are using in your thesis. Include page numbers, table or
chart number, or any other relevant information

Notification that the thesis will be available online through Spectrum, Concordia University’s institutional repository,
and via the Library and Archive Canada’s website and other websites. Include a copy of these license agreements or a link to
their text:

If you do not use the form, try to obtain a signed letter, preferably with the publisher’s official letterhead, as signed
documents may offer more legal protection than emails. Make sure that the copyright holder specifically agrees with the terms
of the Spectrum license and the license with Library and Archives Canada.

How to seek permission to include copyrighted works in your thesis - Proof of permission

Keep all correspondence (emails, letters, forms) exchanged with copyright holders. Do not include these documents in your
thesis but keep them in your files as they constitute proof that you have obtained permission to use the copyrighted
materials.

In your thesis, each time you use material for which you have obtained reproduction rights, you should include a statement
such as “reproduced with permission from XYZ.”

How to seek permission to include copyrighted works in your thesis - Permission denied

In the unusual case where the copyright holder denies permission to use the material, requests a charge for granting this
right, or fails to respond to your request, the material must be removed from the thesis. This
should only be done as a last resort when the reproduction is not considered fair dealing and you have made a
reasonable effort to obtain permission from the right’s holder.

If you need to remove copyrighted material from your thesis, leave a space where the original document was located and, in
its place, include:

Including Your Own Previously Published Work in Your Thesis

If you have published or are publishing a portion of your work (i.e., articles, poems, plays, music) and you wish also to
include a substantial portion from that work in your thesis, please consider the copyright implications.

As early as possible in the publication process, inform the editor or publisher that you need to reproduce material from
your work in your thesis. If you have co-authored the work, you should also inform the co-author(s) that you intend to use the
results of your work in your thesis.

Authors usually sign a copyright transfer agreement when they publish. Quite often, this agreement transfers the copyright
from the author(s) (i.e. you) to the publisher. If you want to use the content of the article in your thesis, you will need to
maintain the right to re-use your own work. When signing an agreement with the publisher, read the terms of the publication
agreement very carefully. Look for wording in the publishing agreement about the right to reproduce content from the article
in a thesis that will be freely available on the web in an institutional repository (i.e. Spectrum). If you do not see such
wording, ask to have it added.

The Licenses you will sign: Spectrum & Library and Archives Canada license agreements

As a graduate student at Concordia, you hold the copyright of your thesis. When submitting a thesis you will sign two
licenses, one with Concordia and another with Library and Archives Canada. These licenses allow your thesis to be made
available in various ways.

“34. Upon submission of a thesis by a graduate student, the graduate student shall be deemed to have
granted the University a non-exclusive, royalty free license to reproduce, archive, preserve, conserve, communicate to the
public by telecommunication or on the internet, loan, distribute the thesis worldwide for non-commercial purposes, in any
format including electronic. In the event of a deferment of a thesis for distribution or publication, it is understood that
the University’s license to communicate, loan and/or distribute shall only take effect as of the expiry of the agreed upon
deferment period.”

This Policy is also reflected in the Graduate Calendar3 and the Thesis Office4 at Concordia. Note that the Policy allows you to defer depositing your thesis in Spectrum
for a specific time period, as determined by the School of Graduate Studies.

In addition, students are required to sign a license agreement with Library and Archives Canada 5. This license is similar to the Concordia Spectrum license, except that it is transferable
to third parties and allows for remunerated uses of which you are eligible to receive a portion. For more information, please
consult the Library and Archives Canada website.

These licenses clearly stipulate that you own the copyright to your thesis but that Concordia and Library and Archives
Canada will preserve and make your thesis available, usually via the Internet and other searchable databases. These
“non-exclusive” licenses mean that you can enter into other agreements, such as publishing your thesis, but any subsequent
license agreements must also respect the fact that Concordia and Library and Archives Canada have a non-exclusive right to
make your thesis available. For example, it is not possible for you to assign an exclusive license for your thesis to a
publisher as part of a publishing contract, as you have already granted a non-exclusive license. Generally, you should inform
any publisher interested in your thesis that your thesis will be available on the Internet and in other databases by Concordia
and Library and Archives Canada.

The thesis submission process at Concordia is similar to that in other universities in Canada and the world. The goal is to
make all scholarly works easily available to students, researchers and the public at large. Science and academic research
advances by building on the work of others. Just as you may have used other theses or works in your research, your thesis will
be available to guide others in their research.

Conclusion

This Guide has provided a summary of the copyright issues to be aware of while preparing your thesis. The websites and
documents that have been referenced in this Guide may be helpful in giving you more information about particular topics.

Different disciplines have their own accepted practices. Academic integrity and authorship practices in your discipline may
provide more important constraints to using copyright protected works than the Copyright Act. Also,
understanding how copyright functions is fundamental when considering using protected works. It is highly recommended that you
consider such norms and issues, in consultation with your thesis supervisor, as early as possible while you write your thesis.